1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device arranged to receive and validate currency and other items of value, including tickets, vouchers, coupons, markers, scrip, match play documents, and so forth. The device is suitable for use in environments where large numbers of the printed items of value are exchanged in a short interval of time. By way of example and not limitation, the device may be used at a gaming table of a casino.
Unlike previous bill acceptors designed for use in gaming environments, the device of the invention is mobile and free-standing, thereby enabling the device to easily be move to wherever needed, and to be removed and replaced for service or maintenance.
Furthermore, instead of simply rejecting items that cannot be internally validated, the device of the invention includes an escrow feature that enables remote validation of suspect notes while other notes are being processed, thereby enabling play to continue with minimal inconvenience to the dealer and legitimate players.
2. Description of Related Art
Traditionally, when a dealer at a casino receives a stack of cash from a player for the purpose of purchasing chips, the dealer simply drops the cash through a slot in the table into a secure capture drop box. The slot is positioned to enable the dealers to conduct transactions without taking their eyes off the table, and without placing their hands or any media out of the view of the security camera system that monitors the table. Secure capture drop boxes may be used in connection with a variety of table games, such as black jack, craps, roulette, and baccarat.
A problem with the traditional system is that it is difficult to count stacks of notes while game play is proceeding, and virtually impossible to validate or authenticate the notes until the capture box has been physically removed from the table and taken into soft count to be verified. This has long been viewed as a security risk to both the casino and gaming commissions, and therefore there has been a long felt need for ways to automate note (i.e., cash or other items or documents of value) acceptance and validation, in order to more efficiently count and validate notes as they are received at the table, thereby reducing the risk of employee theft and increasing the casino's protection against counterfeit activity.
In the casino environment, there are several requirements for automated note acceptors. First, the device should be at least as fast and easy for the dealer to use as the conventional slot and drop box, so that use of the device does not slow down a game in progress. Second, all transactions and handling of notes or other documents of value must be within full view of the casino security cameras. Third, the device should be able to accept a variety of notes, including tickets, vouchers, and the like, as well as currency of a variety of different denominations. Fourth, the device should be reliable with a minimal number of jams and easy removal of the jams, and the ability to handle notes of poor quality. Fifth, the device should not be tied to a particular table but rather should be able to be positioned wherever needed, and in particular should be easily removed and replaced if repair is necessary. Sixth, the system should have the ability to retain suspected counterfeit notes for further investigation and to prevent re-use.
This problem has been addressed in a series of patents and publications owned by JCM American Corporation (the JCM patents and publications). These patents and publications, including U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,745,887, 6,889,849, and 6,968,787, and U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2005/0121286, 2005/0126880, and 2005/0126881, disclose automatic bill acceptors that are specifically designed for use at gaming tables, and that are designed to enable a dealer to insert stacks of bills, tickets, or other notes given to the dealer in exchange for gaming chips, and to validate the notes before game play proceeds to ensure that the notes are not counterfeit. However, there are at least two disadvantages to the bill acceptor designs disclosed in the JCM patents and publications.
The first disadvantage is that JCM takes the approach of mounting the bill acceptors directly to the gaming table, in a manner similar to the standard secure drop box. As a result, the table must be shut down whenever repair or maintenance is required, the repair or maintenance must be carried out on the casino floor in view of casino patrons (casinos never close), and a bill acceptor must be provided for every gaming table even though not all tables will necessarily be in use at any given time.
The second disadvantage is that the JCM table system rejects any notes that cannot be automatically validated, irrespective of the reason that the bill cannot be validated, resulting in a relatively high number of game interruptions and embarrassment or inconvenience to persons presenting notes that cannot be automatically validated for reasons other than inauthenticity.
Other patents that are of background interest because they disclose gaming or wagering systems other than gaming table bulk depositors, or subsystems that might possibly be used in or that are related to bill acceptors, include U.S. Pat. No. 5,826,680, which describes a bill handling system for accepting bills taken in game play media lending machines and for transporting the bills to a cash box, as well as a system of secure bill receiving cassettes; U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,776, which describes an electronic monitoring system for a gaming table integrated with a casino central management system, in which information is tracked regarding operations of the gaming table, the dealer, the floor manager or player in a pit, and a cash box system that provides bill denomination signals to a host control system; U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,848, which discloses a system for automatically monitoring playing and wagering of a game, in particular a chip and card tracking system and table monitoring logic verifying game play, cash box processing, player analysis and employee analysis; U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,857, which discloses a system for tracking playing cards at a gaming table; U.S. Pat. No. 6,579,180, which discloses a casino gaming table monitoring system including a card deck reader, chip tray reader, currency authenticator including bill imaging; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,490, which discloses an electronic gaming table monitor similar to that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,848; U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,517, which discloses an electronic gaming table monitor system including position data; cards; dice; roulette wheels and other data; wager data; payout system; electronic paddle used in a drop slot of the table; and communication with a central server; U.S. Pat. No. 6,688,979, which discloses game table play tracking, a chip reader, card reader, and table image, with play tracking and communication with a central server; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0002386, which describes an electronic casino information management system that enables conducting casino business at any location within the casino based on the use of a handheld computing device, and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2004/0033832, which describes a closed system for counting monetary instruments from a plurality of games within a casino, a bill validator that receives, validates and counts monetary instruments and transmits data to a central processor.
Also of background interest are U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,941, which describes a chip tray monitoring system; U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0155209, which describes a portable safe arrangement for currency transport system associated with a game card vending machine; U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,231, which describes a secure cash box system for currency accepting machines; U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,440, which describes a cash box arrangement for a gaming table; U.S. Pat. No. 6,641,483, which describes a security cabinet arrangement for electronic casino game controllers; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,905, which describes a casino cash transporter with a secure cash box.